2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National - Paris, France

[Vinsk]

I really hope they're just chit chatting about Stricker being the next captain. Let's get away from the zero personality theme.  Let's look for someone who will be outspoken without fear of any criticism and who has a good sense of strategy. Stricker will be just a slot filler. Nice guys finish last. 

[3jacker]

How many more decades will Europe have to hand us our asses overseas for us to become the underdogs when playing an away game?

[BallStriker]

DJ and Brooks need to be separated in the team locker room afterwards......WTF is going on?  

Let's just get to Whistling Straights...set up the course at 7800 yards and fairway width maxed out.....then let's try again.

[rehmwa]

16 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Being able to hit a fairway is not a Euro thing. It’s a good golfers thing.

this ^^^

c'mon people.  all these guys play together, play the same courses, play all kinds of course, all 'wanted it' just as badly coming in - it's just who was 'on' that week vs not.

Edited October 2, 2018 by rehmwa

[ghalfaire]

22 hours ago, 3jacker said:

You'd think they'd have thought of some of this stuff, being the best golfers in the world.

Maybe they should read this board to get their head on straight.  It's shocking to me that Jim Furyk knows less about the players, the sport and the venue than a bunch of guys on the internet. 
I guess my eyes have been opened.  I hope our future captains' are as well. 

Well I'd say that knowledge of the players, the sport, venue are probably necessary to be a good captain.  But apparently not sufficient to produce a winning record.  Europe is 9-3-0 the last 25 years.  Do you believe we're just that over matched? I don't.  I don't put it all on the captain either, but I would say being an elite player and being a good captain are not the same thing.  Also worth of note is it would seem somehow the European team seems to be able to raise their games for the RC, while often several of our players don't even play to their abilities (I'm not saying they don't care, I'm sure they do).  I don't pretend I know the answer, but I know when you consistently get beat by what would appear on paper less talented teams, you're doing something wrong. 

[rehmwa]

5 hours ago, MonkeyGolfer99 said:

 agree and it's a fair point but . . . 

If the mood in one camp is positive, supportive, energized etc then I think that will have an impact psychologically i.e confidence in hitting down that tight fairway, making putts etc.

Yes team chemistry could be a factor - especially when you have to play with someone you don't like or brings you down.  That's not really about wanting it more or being more passionate, though

for Psychological edge?  I'd say momentum is more of a factor than just motivation/passion coming in.  It's easier to stay up when you are up, than to get back up when you are down.  Even there, this isn't high school sports, these are pros.

Edited October 2, 2018 by rehmwa

[weekend hacker1]

29 minutes ago, BallStriker said:

DJ and Brooks need to be separated in the team locker room afterwards......WTF is going on?  

Let's just get to Whistling Straights...set up the course at 7800 yards and fairway width maxed out.....then let's try again.

Brooks shagging Paulina...? It's like a bloody soap opera.

10 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

this ^^^

c'mon people.  all these guys play together, play the same courses, play all kinds of course, all 'wanted it' just as badly coming in - it's just who was 'on' that week vs not.

There has to be a bit more to it than that, as it would be pretty unlikely for the US to invariably lose away from home.

[rehmwa]

26 minutes ago, weekend hacker1 said:

There has to be a bit more to it than that, as it would be pretty unlikely for the US to invariably lose away from home.

sure, but I don't think it's as simplistic than our typical monday morning quarterbacks are hypothesizing - but it does make a good discussion.

I think Fleetwood's hair is descended directly from Sampson's and THAT explains it

 

55 minutes ago, BallStriker said:

DJ and Brooks need to be separated in the team locker room afterwards......WTF is going on?

I guess the team members are passionate about winning......

I would contend that our most successful players are the ones with little 'publicly displayed' (ie. cosmetic vs real internal) passion and even less ego - Tony and Webb and Justin.  They are more 'fit in' kind of guys, rather than super stars  (i'm stretching it a little with Justin maybe, but he seems to put the ego aside better than most)

Edited October 2, 2018 by rehmwa

[Vinsk]

JT: Just likes to play golf..isn’t dealing with anything else apparently.

Finau: Easy going, low stress. No issues.

Simpson: Happy guy. Just plays golf.

Spieth: Struggling with his swing/putting. Dealing with Reed’s attitude/comments earlier in the season.

DJ: Troubles with Paulina...and apparently something with Brooks.

Koepka: Apparently something with DJ.

Bubba: Well, he’s Bubba.

Tiger: He was tired. Partners played awful.

BDC: Struggled with himself. Rookie. Recent poor play leading to match.

Reed: Piss poor attitude. Spieth issue.

Phil: Just playing poorly. Odd pairing.

Fowler: Happy guy. Good attitude. Didn’t play to his potential.

Furyk: Had to deal with all that mess. It was like dealing with a disgruntled family at Disney World.

A recipe for disaster that played out as just that.

[RussUK]

1 hour ago, BallStriker said:

DJ and Brooks need to be separated in the team locker room afterwards......WTF is going on?  

 

I think the post tournement beer's they were partaking in contributed to their heated exchange.

[rehmwa]

“This means a lot to me,” Garcia said. “I have passed some of my heroes today-and Nick Faldo.”

The more I find about Sergio, the more of a fan I become.  This one is great.

[Piz]

Sounds like some, on the U.S. squad, are taking the "me" in "team" a bit too seriously.

[colin007]

Omg DJ and Brooks....bring on the lolz, this is hilarious.

[JSGolf]

DJ and Brooks going at it? Aren't/Weren't they best buds? And who pretty much told the media that Patrick was full of shit? Which team member could it have been??

[Vinsk]

10 hours ago, weekend hacker1 said:

There has to be a bit more to it than that, as it would be pretty unlikely for the US to invariably lose away from home.

Maybe. But we're talking about this Ryder Cup.

[BallStriker]

1 hour ago, JSGolf said:

DJ and Brooks going at it? Aren't/Weren't they best buds? And who pretty much told the media that Patrick was full of shit? Which team member could it have been??

Who really knows....but, when something significant happens in a relationship (like cheating), there is a tendency for a lot of stuff to be said and come out of the woodwork......Paulina and Brooks' GF may be friends and can make for uncomfortable enviornment and sometimes things are said or implied (for example, Broooks maybe new shit about DJ screwing around....maybe DJ has said shit implying that Brooks may not be so innocent either)....just speculation, but this kind of stuff can happen fast when in a massively stressful situation such as a cheating situation.......people have a tendency to say half-truths or outright lies in attempt to deflect.........you just never know

As for the NY Times article............Phil would be my overwhelming favorite for this

[Killa]

On 10/2/2018 at 3:31 AM, Vinsk said:

 I kinda agree with Michael Breed today talking about the difficulty when you pair two 'Alpha' types together. I think players have historically played bad with Tiger because despite then being Alpha players (Reed, Mickelson) the bottom line is Tiger is the GOAT. So be alpha all you want but it's kinda difficult to do when you're paired with Tiger. However, players who are alpha that have the ability to take the beta role (Spieth) would fair better. Now this is only true if you've got a player who can do that and doesn't get caught up in the nerves of being with Tiger. Someone I think could play with Tiger and do well would be Pat Perez. He's an alpha personality but also can just do his thing and he respects how good Tiger is and would be enthusiastic about kicking someones tail with him on his team. Just some rambling I thought I'd throw out there.

In hindsight it might have been better to pair Tiger with Phil. He might be the only guy on the team that is guaranteed to not have any pressure from playing with Woods. 

[BCoggins]

What America needed was Cheech on most of the bags to break most players drivers. Can't understand why if you can hit a "stinger" as far as most can hit a driver, and you are hhaving trouble hitting the fairway with driver you don't change!